Obama to end ‘Don’t Ask’ Wednesday

The White House said that the ban on gays in the military will be lifted by the end of the week.

The White House said that the ban on gays in the military will be lifted by the end of the week.

Senate voted Saturday to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and the bill is on it way to the oval office, Politico44 reports.

There’s no word on when exactly President Barack Obama will sign off on the legislation, but administration officials said it is a top priority for him.

“The repeal of don’t ask, don’t tell would be signed by the president likely on Wednesday morning,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters today. “That gives you a sense of the parameters of our week ahead.”

Homosexuals have been banned from openly serving in the military since 1950, when President Harry S. Truman set up discharge rules for gay soldiers. After 60 years, the president is eager to eradicate the controversial policy.

“When that bill reaches my desk, I will sign it, and this discriminatory law will be repealed,” President Obama told the press today. “Gay and lesbian service members — brave Americans who enable our freedoms — will no longer have to hide who they are.”

President Bill Clinton introduced Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in 1993, which prohibited the military from trying to out gay and bisexual service members. It was presented as a compromise to an outright ban, but it didn’t protect homosexual service members from being discharged if their sexuality was uncovered.